Various types of systems have been devised for irrigating and lavaging the colon for the purpose of dislodging waste or fecal material and are particularly beneficial for elderly and handicapped patients. In such systems, it is desirable that the mechanism employed be compact, sanitary and easy to use and readily conformable to meet the particular requirements and physical condition of the patient.
Typically, systems which have been employed in the past for colonic lavage have a nozzle or speculum which is inserted into the rectum and water is directed from a tank or reservoir at a predetermined temperature and pressure level through the speculum into the colon of the patient. After a predetermined time interval, the liquid and waste material are withdrawn from the patient via the speculum and through a waste or drain line into a waste container. The flow of water into the patient is regulated to some extent by closing the drain line and, once the colon is filled to a predetermined level, the drain line is opened so that the water and waste material are then free to flow back through the nozzle and drain line into the waste container. In this relation, it has been proposed to control the opening and closing of the drain line by means of a valve which is either pressure or manually operated to open and close that line either according to a particular pressure level or time interval.
Prior art systems have employed some means of attachment directly into the water supply system so that the water is delivered directly from the tap or into some form of overhead tank and then rely upon gravity feed to direct the water into the patient and, for example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,522 to Waysilk et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,668 to T. Perl utilizes a wheeled cart containing a liquid supply receptacle with the necessary accessory equipment for administration of enemas to groups of patients, and the supply receptacle along with a separate waste receptacle are arranged on separate shelves of the cart; however, the apparatus is not designed or capable of use for colonic lavages.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,420,507 to H. C. Stratton discloses a therapeutic irrigating system in which a pump is used to control the delivery of water or other liquid to the patient via a supply tube while clamping off a discharge line, followed by unclamping the line to permit the colon to empty into a discharge or waste container and which steps are done manually with the aid of an attendant. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,298 to W. L. Koski et al, the sequence of filling and discharging is automatically controlled in a stomach pump unit and provides adjustable time control means to regulate the duration of filling and evacuation but requires separate pumping mechanisms and tubes for the injection of water and evacuation of liquid from the stomach. Lacking in such systems and others is the ability to minimize the amount of water required in conducting a complete lavaging operation or sequence as well as reducing the amount of accessories and instrumentation required to conduct such operations; also, to provide a fully portable and automatic system which can be patient-operated with minimal assistance required on the part of an attendant or nurse and can be easily transported into position for use followed by removal to a bathroom area for convenient and sanitary removal of the waste matter. In this relation, it is desirable that no manual lifting is required and that the entire operation may be performed automatically in an efficient and highly dependable manner.